LeopardClan: The Clan of Powerful Swimmers and Climbers

Ashcreek jerked back as Rainpaw woke up and leaped to her paws. He'd come to wake the apprentices and give them travelling herbs before they would leave with Dawnstar. "Apprentices..." He grumbled softly, shaking his head and sweeping the travelling herbs away from the den entrance.

Rosepaw growled as she was jerked from sleep once more, opening her eyes before she realized what Rainpaw had said. They were supposed to be leaving soon! She leaped to her paws, shaking scraps of moss from her pelt. She sat down, making an attempt to smooth her ruffled pelt before she heard Dawnstar call them out of the den.

Rosepaw hurried out at the urging of her denmate, stretching out and grumbling as she did so. Once she was done getting ready, she crouched down to lap up the herbs, crinkling her nose in disgust at the bitter taste. She sat up and looked around in the pre-dawn light, they should be leaving soon, in order to make the journey there on time.

"Are you ready, young ones?" Dawnstar asked, tilting her head before she stretched and lapped up her own herbs. "We should be leaving now." She instructed, padding towards the camp entrance.

Dawnstar nodded, leading the two young leopard's out of the camp before she broke into a run. The two were nearly as big as she was and she was certain that they could keep up with her. It would do them well to run and get some energy flowing through them. They had a long journey but running for part of it, while it was still a bit chilly would make it easier for their journey across the desert.

Rosepaw was rather excited, no longer feeling any pain in her paw as she raced forward, pounding after her leader. "We might be warriors by tomorrow!" She huffed quietly, nudging against her denmate and flexing her paws as she ran.

Rosepaw seemed to notice the gesture, flexing her paws to soften the sound of her paw steps. She was excited, looking around as the scenery went flying past them. Before the sun reached it's height in the sky, the three cats stopped, having reached Meeting Rock. She was panting heavily, grinning to herself before she shook the water from her pelt.

"We'll rest here for now, just to catch our breath before the rest of the journey. Take your time to get a drink." Dawnstar instructed before she crouched down to lap almost greedily at the cool water. They didn't have time to hunt, but a drink would do them all good. "Now, what's the first rule of travelling to Vanishing Cave? Do we travel through LionClan territory, CaracalClan territory, or in the water that marks the border between the two?" She asked.

Dawnstar nodded, blinking in approval. "Very good, Rainpaw." She rumbled, nudging the apprentice before she backed off. "Yes, we spend a decent part of the journey in the water, especially as the only clan that enjoys being in water. Not only does it keep us from having issues with the other clans, but it helps us stay cool." She explained.

Rosepaw nodded dutifully in understanding, glancing at her denmate, it would do her good to keep cool when they were going to be on such exposed territory. Plus, a run-in with a CaracalClan patrol didn't sound like a good idea, the cats tended to be more aggressive towards the larger cats and LionClan generally didn't care as long as they didn't steal any prey.

"Depends on the weather and how fast we travel. In this weather and running, or swimming, we should be able to make it to Vanishing Cave well before moon high." Dawnstar stated, her whiskers twitching in amusement towards the apprentice's inquisitiveness. "So, normally a day's travel."

Rosepaw nodded eagerly, bouncing excitedly before she dove into the river again, wadding until the water got deeper and the three cats had to start swimming more. Though she was excited, she was the only hybrid in the clan and she couldn't help but to feel an inkling of doubt. "What if StarClan won't accept me as a warrior because I broke the warrior code by being a hybrid?" She whispered eventually, worry filling her eyes.

"Yeah... I guess..." She mumbled, her ears flattening awkwardly before she shook her head. "Well, you know that you're one-hundred percent LeopardClan." She murmured, splashing a little bit as well before she fell silent.

Rosepaw chuffed in amusement, shaking her head and swimming along before diving under. Once she surfaced, she shook her head once more. She coughed as she got a mouthful of water before she pushed herself to shallow water and started coughing to get the water out. "Rainpaw!" She squeaked in protest, her tail lashing through the water.

Rosepaw hissed, though amusement glimmered in her eyes. "Doesn't mean you can try to drown me~" She joked, bringing down a large paw to create a large splash.

Rosepaw perked up at that, yelping before she started swimming faster to catch up to Dawnstar. They'd really fallen behind and needed to hurry up.

Rosepaw didn't bother with a response, not having the patience to swim and talk at the same time. She was managing at least, kicking out strongly. After a while, the cave came into view and Dawnstar lead them out of the water, onto the LionClan bank.

Rosepaw chuffed in amusement, her tail flicking as she dragged herself out of the water and shook her pelt dry. She could hardly contain her excitement now, bouncing on her front paws before she raced after Dawnstar. "Come on, Rainpaw!" She called excitedly.

Rosepaw stifled a chuckle at the sight of her denmate skidding, not having the breath to run and laugh at the same time. She flopped down when Dawnstar stopped near the cave, looking up at the darkened sky. "Take some time to rest and see if you can catch any fish. This area belongs to no clan, hunting is allowed." The larger leopardess murmured lowly, closing her eyes.